OT: Matzo meal (was: auto followup macro) (Was: [slrn] scoring whole threads)

Matzah balls

Quoted message said:

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Matzah balls, also known as קניידלעך kneydlach (pl.) (kneydl,
singular) in Yiddish, (also matza balls, matzo balls, or matzoh balls)
are a traditional Ashkenazi (East-European Jewish) dumpling made from
matzah meal (ground matzah).

Matzah balls in soup

Matzah balls are made of matzah meal, eggs, fat, liquid, and
seasonings, usually salt and pepper. The liquid may be water, stock,
or seltzer water (for lightness). Sautéed onions or other flavourings
may be added. Ground almonds are sometimes used in addition to the
matzah meal. The traditional fat is schmaltz (chicken fat), which
imparts a distinctive flavor, but vegetable oils or margarine may be
used—butter is not used as milk products are not kosher in chicken
(meat) soup. There are recipes for fat-free Matzah balls. [1]

The balls are shaped by hand and dropped into a pot of salted, boiling
water or chicken soup. (Keeping one's hands wet is vital when handling
the sticky dough.) The balls swell during the boiling time of 20
minutes or more, and come out light or dense, depending on the precise
recipe. Matzah balls are roughly spherical and can range anywhere from
a couple of centimeters in diameter to the size of a large orange,
depending on preference. They can be frozen and reheated in soup.

Matzah balls are usually served with chicken broth as matzah ball
soup.

Matzah balls are particularly popular during Passover, when matzah
meal is often used in observant Ashkenazi Jewish households as flour
may not be used. (Those Ashkenazi Jews with the custom against
Gebruchts, however, would not eat them on Passover -- see the
Gebruchts page for more.) They are also eaten at other times of year,
especially on Shabbat, as a quintessential comfort food.

I eat matzo balls in chicken broth... I love them and I am not
Jewish...

Quoted message said:

Well anyway, here's my question ... I recently bought a box of matzo
meal (for breading something) and noticed that under the kosher
certification it says "NOT FOR PASSOVER USE". I thought matzot were
mainly eaten at Passover, so I'm curious (1) why they sell matzo meal
that's not suitable for Passover, and (2) why it isn't suitable.

From googling around, I suspect that (2) is because the plant used to
make it may also process leavened foods (a bit like the allergy
warning "this product is produced in a factory that also handles
nuts"😉 --- is this right?

As to (1), I got the impression that matzot have an, ahem, binding
effect --- so that most people don't want to eat them outside of
Passover. Is this product used mainly for other uses than making
matzot?

Matzoh meal is used year round for a variety of dishes, not only matzoh
balls. In fact, the eaters of matzoh balls are divided into two
groups...those who like "floaters" (very large, very light) and those who
prefer "sinkers" (smaller in size and more dense). Matzoh meal can be used
to bake sponge cakes, sort of like angel food cake; as a breading for
chicken, fish i.e., bread crumbs. The reason it is not for Passover, is
that Passover matzoh are produced differently from regular matzoh, in that
it is usually baked less than 18 minutes. Look at this url for more info,
as to why non-Jews eat kosher food.
http://www.foodprocessing.com/articles/2005/397.html

Another website for Kosher recipes is http://www.jewishfood-list.com.

Harriet & critters

Harriet Neal said:

Quoted message said:

Well anyway, here's my question ... I recently bought a box of matzo
meal (for breading something) and noticed that under the kosher
certification it says "NOT FOR PASSOVER USE". I thought matzot were
mainly eaten at Passover, so I'm curious (1) why they sell matzo meal
that's not suitable for Passover, and (2) why it isn't suitable.

From googling around, I suspect that (2) is because the plant used to
make it may also process leavened foods (a bit like the allergy
warning "this product is produced in a factory that also handles
nuts"😉 --- is this right?

As to (1), I got the impression that matzot have an, ahem, binding
effect --- so that most people don't want to eat them outside of
Passover. Is this product used mainly for other uses than making
matzot?

Matzoh meal is used year round for a variety of dishes, not only matzoh
balls. In fact, the eaters of matzoh balls are divided into two
groups...those who like "floaters" (very large, very light) and those who
prefer "sinkers" (smaller in size and more dense). Matzoh meal can be used
to bake sponge cakes, sort of like angel food cake; as a breading for
chicken, fish i.e., bread crumbs. The reason it is not for Passover, is
that Passover matzoh are produced differently from regular matzoh, in that
it is usually baked less than 18 minutes. Look at this url for more info,
as to why non-Jews eat kosher food.
http://www.foodprocessing.com/articles/2005/397.html

Another website for Kosher recipes is http://www.jewishfood-list.com.

Harriet & critters

Thanks, Harriet.

<voice class="village people">

Matzoh, matzoh man
I want to be a matzoh man

</voice>

--
Blinky RLU 297263
Killing all posts from Google Groups
The Usenet Improvement Project: http://blinkynet.net/comp/uip5.html

Blinky the Shark said:

<voice class="village people">

Matzoh, matzoh man
I want to be a matzoh man

</voice>

I hate to disappoint you, but it's already been done!

Harriet Neal said:

Quoted message said:

Well anyway, here's my question ... I recently bought a box of matzo
meal (for breading something) and noticed that under the kosher
certification it says "NOT FOR PASSOVER USE". I thought matzot were
mainly eaten at Passover, so I'm curious (1) why they sell matzo meal
that's not suitable for Passover, and (2) why it isn't suitable.

Quoted message said:

From googling around, I suspect that (2) is because the plant used to
make it may also process leavened foods (a bit like the allergy
warning "this product is produced in a factory that also handles
nuts"😉 --- is this right?

Quoted message said:

As to (1), I got the impression that matzot have an, ahem, binding
effect --- so that most people don't want to eat them outside of
Passover. Is this product used mainly for other uses than making
matzot?

Matzoh meal is used year round for a variety of dishes, not only matzoh
balls. In fact, the eaters of matzoh balls are divided into two
groups...those who like "floaters" (very large, very light) and those who
prefer "sinkers" (smaller in size and more dense). Matzoh meal can be used
to bake sponge cakes, sort of like angel food cake; as a breading for
chicken, fish i.e., bread crumbs. The reason it is not for Passover, is
that Passover matzoh are produced differently from regular matzoh, in that
it is usually baked less than 18 minutes. Look at this url for more info,
as to why non-Jews eat kosher food.http://www.foodprocessing.com/articles/2005/397.html

Another website for Kosher recipes ishttp://www.jewishfood-list.com.

Harriet & critters

Actually, the matzo is baked the same way, but the manufacturer may
not keep all other product lines out of the way. Or they don't want
to pay for the year-round supervision that it requires.

maxine in ri

In <[email hidden]>, on 05/01/2007

at 04:07 PM said:

In the run up to Passover, do the stores sell matzo meal that is
suitable for it?

READ THE LABELS! I've seen stores put food that is not kosher for
Pesach in their "Passover section", and I've seen stores put food that
is not kosher at all in their "Kosher section". I've also seen food on
a shelf labelled parve[1] that contains meat or dairy products. Caveat
emptor ;-)

[1] Parve means that it can be eaten at either a dairy or a meat meal.

--
Shmuel (Seymour J.) Metz, SysProg and JOAT <http://patriot.net/~shmuel>

Unsolicited bulk E-mail subject to legal action. I reserve the
right to publicly post or ridicule any abusive E-mail. Reply to
domain Patriot dot net user shmuel+news to contact me. Do not
reply to [email hidden]

In <[email hidden]>, on 04/30/2007

at 08:13 PM said:

Well anyway, here's my question ... I recently bought a box of matzo
meal (for breading something) and noticed that under the kosher
certification it says "NOT FOR PASSOVER USE". I thought matzot were
mainly eaten at Passover, so I'm curious (1) why they sell matzo meal
that's not suitable for Passover, and (2) why it isn't suitable.

1. Some people like matzah.

2. In order to be Kasher lPesach (kosher for Passover), it has to
be monitored to ensure that there is no risk of fermentation.
Since that involves labor costs, it makes sense to have a less
expensive production line for matzoth that will be eaten the
rest of the year.

Quoted message said:

From googling around, I suspect that (2) is because the plant used
to make it may also process leavened foods

Depending on the materials involved, the plant can be rendered fit for
making matzoth for Pesach.

Quoted message said:

As to (1), I got the impression that matzot have an, ahem, binding
effect

I've heard that, but don't recall experiencing it. YMMV.

Quoted message said:

Is this product used mainly for other uses than making
matzot?

Yes.

--
Shmuel (Seymour J.) Metz, SysProg and JOAT <http://patriot.net/~shmuel>

Unsolicited bulk E-mail subject to legal action. I reserve the
right to publicly post or ridicule any abusive E-mail. Reply to
domain Patriot dot net user shmuel+news to contact me. Do not
reply to [email hidden]

Harriet Neal said:

Matzoh meal is used year round for a variety of dishes, not only matzoh
balls. In fact, the eaters of matzoh balls are divided into two
groups...those who like "floaters" (very large, very light) and those who
prefer "sinkers" (smaller in size and more dense). Matzoh meal can be used
to bake sponge cakes, sort of like angel food cake; as a breading for
chicken, fish i.e., bread crumbs. The reason it is not for Passover, is
that Passover matzoh are produced differently from regular matzoh, in that
it is usually baked less than 18 minutes. Look at this url for more info,
as to why non-Jews eat kosher food.
http://www.foodprocessing.com/articles/2005/397.html

Interesting, thanks!

In the run up to Passover, do the stores sell matzo meal that is
suitable for it? (I know, I should have investigated this about a
month ago.)

Shmuel (Seymour J.) Metz said:

Quoted message said:

As to (1), I got the impression that matzot have an, ahem, binding
effect

I've heard that, but don't recall experiencing it. YMMV.

I've never eaten many of them. The only pseudo-information I have is
that I saw several "let my people go" jokes when googling.

Adam Funk said:

Well anyway, here's my question ... I recently bought a box of matzo
meal (for breading something) and noticed that under the kosher
certification it says "NOT FOR PASSOVER USE". I thought matzot were
mainly eaten at Passover, so I'm curious (1) why they sell matzo meal
that's not suitable for Passover, and (2) why it isn't suitable.

It's easier to answer the first question last. You're probably right
that It isnt kosher for Pesach because the plant is also user for non-
kosher for Pesach stuff; also because it hasn't been certified as
kosher for Pesach by a mashgiyach (a rabbinic monitor). Matzo meal not
kosher for Passover is sold probably because people will buy it and
it's cheaper to manufacture than matzo meal that is kosher for Pesach.

Shmuel (Seymour J.) Metz said:

Quoted message said:

Is this product used mainly for other uses than making
matzot?

Yes.

In fact, I've never heard of matzo meal being used for making matzot.
It would be like using bread crumbs to make bread.

-bwg said:

Shmuel (Seymour J.) Metz said:

Quoted message said:

Is this product used mainly for other uses than making
matzot?

Yes.

Quoted message said:

In fact, I've never heard of matzo meal being used for making matzot.
It would be like using bread crumbs to make bread.

That was definitely a misunderstanding on my part.

I've subsequently found out that matzo meal is made _from_ matzot, and
not used to make them (although it is as I thought used to make matzo
balls).